


somebody else

by prismatical



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Angst, Canon-Typical The Spiral Content (The Magnus Archives), Gen, MAG 101, MAG 101 spoilers, Moral Dilemmas, The Great Twisting, The Spiral Fear Entity (The Magnus Archives), Tragedy, Transcript Format, a few cameos - Freeform, some MAG 167 spoilers, tfw your boss sacrifices you to the eldritch incarnation of delusion :/
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:08:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28410660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prismatical/pseuds/prismatical
Summary: Michael Shelley is-not-what-he-is. But he was.
Relationships: Gertrude Robinson & Michael Shelley
Comments: 10
Kudos: 32





	somebody else

**Author's Note:**

> have been quickly and thoroughly consumed with love for the magnus archives and all the moral quandaries it contains. here is the result. 
> 
> forgive me if the formatting is a little all over the place, I am trying something new. and of course, please enjoy!

[tape clicks on] 

MICHAEL

 _(under his breath)_ Gloves, gloves, where are — ah! Ah — hm. Right. _(sigh)_ That’s what I get for putting off shopping til the last—oh— Emma! Emma, do you have a second?

[an audible sigh, then footsteps approach]

EMMA

Just one, I’m looking for Sarah, if you’ve seen her, I’ve got — Christ, it looks like a travel shop threw up on your desk. 

MICHAEL

Yes, well I’m — I’m packing for Gertrude— me and Gertrude, that is— for Zemlya Sannikova, you know, of course— and I bought these gloves just yesterday, but apparently fancy leather gloves need stretching? Or something? I was just trying to get the warmest ones, and these are fur-lined, but I really should have just gone with— 

EMMA

 _(barks a laugh)_ Michael, tell me you at least put them on the Institute’s budget. These’ve had to have cost an arm and a leg! 

MICHAEL

Oh, I’ll get reimbursed. But it was short notice, you know? And it’s— you know, it’s _Russia_ , and Gertrude’s...you know, _Gertrude_ , she’s not going to remember to think of the weather. 

EMMA

Mhm. 

[pause] 

_(Abruptly)_ Well, I don’t think I can help you. Don’t know much about….outdoors adventures gear. I'm on enough in years that my assignments have me stuck in dusty old storerooms these days, or— _(paper rustling)_ talking to widows about housefires. _(a quiet laugh)_ Consider yourself lucky, I suppose. 

MICHAEL

...right. Funny thing about Zemlya Sannikova, actually, you might find it— well, I found it interesting, but there’s actually no recorded weather stations for it, it’s so far out. Just when you think human civilization has spread as far as it can, there’s always one more frontier. 

[pause]

I mean, _I_ find it interesting, I don’t— 

EMMA

 _(cutting him off, a smile growing in her voice)_ No, that’s actually...fascinating. Funny how some places can just get...lost, isn’t it?

MICHAEL

 _(exhales, a bit relieved)_ Yeah. But lucky— _(paper rustling)_ we’ve got maps! This folder is _loaded_ with them, I’m really not sure where Gertrude even _found_ them— I haven’t actually looked at them—but I reckon she wouldn’t risk us getting lost on the tundra or wherever.  
  


EMMA

 _(barks another laugh)_ A right cartographer, our Gertrude. Anyway, good luck fixing those gloves. And do—are you bringing that tape as well? 

MICHAEL

What? Oh, I didn’t even— 

[tape clicks off] 

* * *

[tape clicks on]

MICHAEL

Tuesday, November the 9th, two thousand and _(growing static, unintelligible)_. Michael Shelley recording. Hah, that is fun to say. Feels official! Anyway, today is the first leg of the journey for myself and Gertrude Robinson, Head Archivist of the Magnus Institute on a field assignment for— 

GERTRUDE

Michael, what on earth are you doing? 

[fumbling, shuffling] 

MICHAEL

Ge-Gertrude! I thought you’d gone to wait in the ticket line. I was just— 

GERTRUDE

 _(cutting him off)_ I did. Here’s yours. We can catch this ferry, and have enough time to catch the cross-continental towards Moscow.

MICHAEL

The cross— you said we’d be taking a boat?

GERTRUDE

We will be. After the train. Now, the bags— 

MICHAEL

I — well, I mean, you didn’t exactly give me an _itinerary_ , I barely know what the assignment is. Really, Gertrude, I’d feel more comfortable if you’d at least me hold onto whatever details need holding onto, and then—

GERTRUDE

You don’t need to worry about me losing track of our route, Michael. The only thing you need to worry about is whether or not you’ve already informed your mother that you’re leaving the country. Have you?

MICHAEL

I— no? I don’t normally tell her about work trips, not really. You did say this one would be short, anyway. Figure there’s no reason to worry her. 

GERTRUDE

I...did say that. 

MICHAEL

You think we’ll be gone longer? I can always— 

GERTRUDE

 _(sigh)_ No, no, if all goes as planned, we won’t need to be concerned about time. 

[pause]

There’s the ferry. Come on. 

MICHAEL

 _(exhale)_ Right. Right. 

[tape clicks off] 

* * *

[tape clicks on, muffled through layers of fabric]

GERTRUDE

Yes. Yes I’m well aware. If I weren’t sure, I wouldn’t be calling _you_ , now would I? _(pause, swell of static)_ Because if you don’t, every empty place in the world is going to be instantly accessible to any spiral-aligned creature in the universe with just the opening of a door. Isolation doesn’t mean much if it’s only an illusion, now does it? 

[another pause, filled with petulant static]

You leave that part to me. Now, I’m already on my way— oh don’t whine, it’s not as though you have a schedule to keep to. But let me make it clear, if you even think about— 

[door sliding open] 

MICHAEL

Do you want any— oh, sorry! Didn’t realize you were on the phone, I’ll just— 

GERTRUDE

It’s alright, Michael. I was just sorting some last minute details. _(quieter)_ You know my terms. We’ll see you in port.

[staticky noises of discontent. the phone clicks off]

MICHAEL

...right, of course, I was just going to see if you were hungry? The diner car has decent options, and I figured all this traveling, well, it’s good to keep up our strength, right? 

GERTRUDE

Thank you Michael, but I’m not hungry. 

MICHAEL

Are you sure? I haven’t seen you eat anything since we left Minsk, I can just— 

GERTRUDE

 _(forcefully) Thank you_ , Michael. 

MICHAEL

...right. Well, I’m going to grab a coffee, if you change your mind, or want some tea, or….anything. 

[silence]

Gertrude, I don’t know what’s going on with— I mean, if you feel ill or something, I don’t mind finding us a hotel in Moscow, you could rest up— 

GERTRUDE

I appreciate the concern, Michael, but that won’t be necessary. Even if I did feel unwell, this particular research opportunity has a very...limited time frame. I don’t expect to have another chance. 

MICHAEL

 _(quiet sigh)_ Right. Just— please tell me if I can do anything? I’ve done field research before, I can always do whatever needs doing, I— 

GERTRUDE

 _(very forceful) Thank you_ , _Michael_. 

MICHAEL

Right. I’ll just— right. 

[door slides shut]

[long, drawn-out sigh]

[tape clicks off] 

* * *

[tape clicks on] 

MICHAEL

— a lot less tape than I thought I brought, but— oh, here we go. This is Michael Shelley, Archival Assistant at the Magnus Institute, with Gertrude Robinson, Head Archivist. It’s the eleventh of November, and we are — that is, I am— standing on the wharf of the Kara Sea, in Dikson, Russia. Gertrude, um, went to speak with the captain of the boat we’re supposed to be taking to Zemlya Sannikova, and I’m hoping she’ll be back….well, soon. This place is not, it’s um. It’s quite empty. _(stuttery laugh)_ It sort of gives me the creeps, if I’m being honest. 

[pause. There’s the faint sound of waves, overlaid with a low, whining wind]

Gertrude said I wouldn’t need to keep notes for this trip, not really, but the tapes are...I don’t know, familiar? And really, Gertrude… _(sigh)_ I don’t know if she’s well. I’ll delete this bit, obviously, I don’t want her to think I don’t think as highly of her as I do, but she’s just been...quiet, I suppose. I don’t know if it’s to do with where we’re going, or whatever research we’re _doing_ exactly which— well, which I also don’t know. 

[MICHAEL gives another weak laugh]

I suppose there’s a lot I don’t know, um. Probably the reason Gertrude’s here, so _one_ of us knows what we’re doing. I just...I really hope she’s okay to keep going. A train is one thing, but a boat, this far north…

[Michael sighs]

At least I know she has me.

[tape clicks off]

* * *

  
  


[tape clicks on] 

GERTRUDE

— telling you not to concern yourself with it.

MICHAEL

You were the one who said not to trust the Lukases, that they did— what was it, shady real estate deals? 

GERTRUDE

And I stand by that, Michael. But he does help fund the Institute as you’re aware, and therefore has a vested interest in our research. 

MICHAEL

I just— and what exactly is our research here, Gertrude? We’ve been sailing for— I can’t even tell, the sky’s...weird, and every time I try to talk to one of the crew members they just— 

GERTRUDE

 _(sharply)_ I _told_ you not to talk to them, just as I’ve already told you where we’re going, to Zemlya Sannikova. Sannikov Land, if you’d prefer. And it’s still quite a ways, so I advise you to get some sleep. 

MICHAEL

I— _(sigh)_ right. 

[long pause]

Well, it’s freezing in here anyway, I’ll… I’ll fetch some extra blankets. 

[tape clicks off] 

* * *

  
  


[Tape clicks on. There’s a pale howl of wind, accompanied by the steady hush of moving water.]

MICHAEL

This is M-Michael Shelley, Archival Assistant for the M-Magnus Institute, on assignment t-towards Zemlya S-Sannikova, for — _(under breath)_ right, M-Michael, you don’t even know. My g-god, it’s cold. If you’re l-listening to this, I know you can’t s-see it, but my breath— _(long demonstrative exhale)_ — _literally_ c-crystallizes in front of m-me. G-god. If Gertrude steps out in this she’ll t-turn into an icicle. Just wanted to look out over the water, but now I’m just about f-frozen to the rail. 

[pause, short, shivering breaths]

I— I don’t want to say I’m scared. I— 

[long pause. The wind changes pitch a bit, to something lower, more painful]

B-but Gertrude, she— I’m worried she’s g-gotten into something over her head, with th-this trip, or maybe, maybe something’s gone wrong and sh-she’s hiding it from me? I — I don’t know. _(tired exhale)_ As usual. 

[a gull calls]

Th-these aren’t official notes anymore, so I might as well say it. _(shaky inhale)_ I’m scared. Right. I’m scared. I don’t know where we are, or where we’re going, and Gertrude won’t— she won’t _talk_ to me, she just keeps d-drawing lines on her _nonsense_ map like it— I’m scared we’ll get stuck out here, and she’s going to fall ill with —with _something,_ since we’re in the m-middle of the bloody arctic, and I just don’t _know—_

[Michael cuts himself off, breathing harder]

_(under his breath)_ Right. R-Right. This is—keep it together, Michael. Gertrude wouldn’t— she’s done this for years, she _knows_ what she’s doing, you’re just making a fuss. And she has you. Me. Right. _(exhale)_ She has me. And I have her, and it’s going to be just...fine. 

[long pause]

Right. I should...go check on her. _(breathes for a moment longer. Then, mournfully)_ Can’t even see anything anyway, with all this fog. Waste of tape.

[tape clicks off]

* * *

[tape clicks on. Voices are muffled]

MICHAEL

Please. _Please_ , Gertrude, just tell me where we’re really going. If it’s some gag order, or, or secret government project, you know you can trust me, I just— 

GERTRUDE

Very well.

MICHAEL

 _(overlapping)_ — need to know if something— what? 

GERTRUDE

Michael, you’re going to need to listen to me very closely, as I do hate repeating myself. Moreover, you’re going to need to trust that I am telling the truth. Can you do that for me, Michael? 

MICHAEL

I— of course. Yes, of course. 

GERTRUDE

We are going, as you know, to Zemlya Sannikova. It’s a curious island as I am sure we will both find upon arrival, which should be quite soon, if I’m not mistaken. Peter Lukas may be an exasperating personality, but he’s quite eager to get us there if only to finish this expedition as soon as possible. Upon this island, exists something — a being, a phenomena, whatever you wish to call it — that has the potential to cause an unimaginable amount of suffering. 

MICHAEL

Like — like nuclear weapons? 

GERTRUDE

Like nuclear weapons, if whoever holds the detonator had thought to bury a bomb beneath every third garden hedge, and the moment they all went off every living person in the world came to the consensus that radiation poisoning was both quite agreeable and unimaginably painful, and chose to bathe themselves in it while screaming in agony. 

MICHAEL

I— _what ?_

GERTRUDE

 _(gaining steam)_ Once we arrive, I need you to do two things for me. The first, is stay by my side unless I instruct you otherwise. Anything you see is only a distraction. I don’t expect either of us to fully comprehend all of what we witness, but the important thing is to stay together. Understood? 

MICHAEL

I don’t — 

GERTRUDE

_Is that understood?_

MICHAEL

I— yes. I just don’t— 

GERTRUDE

The second thing is that you do not trust what you see and hear. The nature of what we will encounter on this island is to deceive us, and you must not let it lure you away with whatever falsehoods it can come up with. Do not listen to it. Stay with me. Understood?

MICHAEL

I— yes, I— Gertrude, this— this is a, a _lot_ . You’re talking like there’s — like we’re off to battle some sort of great, _fantastical_ evil, or, or something. 

GERTRUDE

 _(dryly)_ Hm. Not an unfitting description, really. This sort of evil is less fantastical, I should say, more nightmarish. But we will be trying to defeat it, in any case. 

MICHAEL

Right, um...right. 

[short pause] 

Me—ah, me too? 

GERTRUDE

 _(wearily. almost regretful)_ Yes, Michael. You’re going to help me.

[pause] 

_(forcefully)_ But only if you trust what I told you. So I suppose…

[there’s a wave of very faint static, barely audible through the already-muffled audio] 

Tell me the truth, Michael. Do you trust me enough to do as I say? 

MICHAEL

I — yes.

[pause, the static fading]

_(earnestly)_ Yes, of course. 

[a long pause]

GERTRUDE

 _(Quieter, less forceful)_ Yes. I suppose you do. 

  
  


[tape clicks off] 

* * *

[tape clicks on]

MICHAEL

— warm here! (shaky laugh) Glad to stand on solid ground, too. Do you want me to row back for the bags? 

GERTRUDE

 _(flatly)_ We won’t need them. 

[there’s a sound of a faint breeze, punctuated by a distant crow of laughter] 

This way. We’ll climb to the peak, there should be— _(sharply)_ what on _earth_ are you doing with that? 

MICHAEL

I was just going to take some audio notes—

GERTRUDE

Absolutely not. 

MICHAEL

You don’t think we might need some kind of record of...fighting this evil, whatever it is? I don’t have to run it I just— 

[a charged pause. GERTRUDE'S glare is almost audible.]

[nervously] Right. I’m sorry, I just wanted— 

[tape clicks off]

* * *

[tape clicks on. The audio is muffled. There’s a strange, rippling echo of indiscernable white noise, undercut by the sound of harsh breathing. Every now and then there’s a high, whining laugh of unclear origin.]

MICHAEL

I — 

GERTRUDE

Quiet.

MICHAEL

 _(in a strained whisper)_ I _—_ Please, Gertude, I—I don’t—I'm not— 

GERTRUDE

 _Quiet_. Stay close. We’re almost there. Then I'll give you the map. 

MICHAEL

I— right _(weak, shaky breath)_. Right. 

[tape clicks off] 

* * *

[Tape clicks on. The audio is warped, going in and out, tinny and awash with static. for a moment it's just that static-filled silence. It’s suddenly broken by the sound of a door shutting, that sends waves of laughter echoing through the noise]

[MICHAEL'S harsh breathing becomes audible.]

MICHAEL

Right. Right. No, um. _(weak laugh)_ Left. Was….was it left? _(paper rustling)_ No. Ger...Gertrude? 

No. She’s. She’s outside. She said...

Right. Left. Right. _(under his breath)_ Right….

[a faint echo of laughter subsumes all other noises, the sound high and warped. The sound fades out to reveal Michael’s laughter, blending into the echo]

MICHAEL

 _(laughing pitchily)_ Right! 

[Glass shatters. Some of the laughter is abruptly cut off.]

That’s….that’s left. No _(paper rustles)_ it’s…..here. 

[there’s an audible creak of a door opening. Some more of the laughter quiets as Michael’s footsteps echo and the door shuts behind him.] 

SOMETHING THERE-NOT-THERE

Hellooo! _(words drawn out)_ You look Los-s-st.

MICHAEL

 _(echoing, panicked)_ Who— who’s there? 

SOMETHING THERE-NOT-THERE

Who? Where? _(bright laughter that sends grating waves of distorted static through the audio)_ Never seen a You before. 

MICHAEL

I— I’m— 

SOMETHING THERE-NOT-THERE

 _(incredulous)_ You _are?_ I am….not. _(an audible grin that makes the distorting static warble, over Michael’s horrified gasp)_ Yet.

[warped laughter fades into running footsteps until the sound of a door opening and slamming shut cuts it all off. All that’s left is MICHAEL'S panting.]

MICHAEL

I— _(there’s a quiet, shaky sob)_ I— god, I can’t— _(several deep inhales)_ Gertrude. Right. _Right_. (paper rustles) Right. Left. Right. 

[Michael’s footsteps are quieter now, though his breathing is still audible. Every now and then a door will creak open and slam shut.]

[A louder creak sounds, and the distortion spikes. Michael shouts in fear]

SOMETHING ISN’T-IS

Lost?

MICHAEL

You— you scared— 

SOMETHING ISN’T-IS

You? As in an I? _(there's laughter. the sound is like vertigo)_ No, no, no. I can’t be. No _I’s_ at all. Not here. Not-here. 

MICHAEL

I don’t— stay away. 

SOMETHING ISN’T-IS

 _I?_ As in a You? No, that can’t be right. _You_ can’t be _I_ , because _You_ can’t _be_ at all. 

MICHAEL

I— stay, stay away! 

  
  


SOMETHING ISN’T-IS

 _I?_ ( _laughter filters through the buckling sound, even as the tone darkens)_ _You_ can’t _be_ . So _don’t be—_ No— what are You doing, what— NO, you _aren’t— !_

[glass shatters, and a door slams, all sounds of laughter cut off] 

MICHAEL

No, no, I’m— _(exhales sharply, muttering over the sound of footsteps)_ I’m— I am? I— right. Left. _(paper rustles. Michael’s voice is higher, more strained.)_ Left. Right. I— I need. There’s—

[The footsteps stop.] 

MICHAEL

I— I am….I’m lost, I’m….am...

[There’s a soft rustle of paper, as if it’s falling from a hand to the floor.]

This isn’t...isn’t here. It isn’t, I don’t— I came through the...the door. _(a bright laugh)_ The door! 

[Two heavy knocks fall into the buzzing quiet. Then, the squeal of a door opening. For a moment, there is only the sound of breathing]

MICHAEL-NOT-MICHAEL

Wa..wait. Wait, no, it’s— (through rising distortion) That’s— that’s not— I’m— I’m not— I am _not—_

[there’s a screech of laughter blended into rattling static]

[tape clicks off] 

* * *

[tape clicks on]

[long exhalation]

THE ARCHIVIST

Well, that was...that was…

[THE ARCHIVIST sighs]

I’m...I’m not going to pretend I find this tape anything but... _deeply_ disturbing. How it survived to make its way out of those halls, let alone _here_ — Well. I did notice a few cobwebs on it, when I pulled it out. 

[a heavy pause] 

What Gertrude could have…. (resigned exhale) No, actually. I know what she was thinking. And I know enough about her at this point to know that she…well, it would have been a fairly simple calculation for her. One man or the whole world gone to madness. One life weighed against literal billions. 

[another weighted pause]

I am….not Gertrude Robinson. Sometimes for the better, I think. She was...I, I don’t know if….

_(decisively)_ I can’t be sure. If I could knowingly sacrifice a person in such a….such a _premeditated_ way, particularly a person as ignorant, as... _trusting_ and terrified as Michael.

[a beat]

_(_ _almost contemptuous)_ And that’s probably a good explanation for my incompetence so far, why everything I do seems to end with worse consequences than if I had the mettle to make the harder decisions. I suppose...I’m just no good at the arithmetic of it all. _(bitter laugh_ ) It’s not lost on me, the irony that the ostensibly more monstrous of the two of us is the one who wouldn’t be capable of such… _(tired sigh)_

I do wonder, how she felt later, once it became evident that disrupting the rituals wasn’t necessary at all. That he’d walked through that door for nothing. Well, not for nothing. For her. 

[the chair creaks. THE ARCHIVIST lets out another sigh.]

Actually...it’s possible I _do_ know how she felt. I, uh, found this tape among a few of her personal affects hidden away in a broom closet, of all things. _(papers shuffling)_ Nothing useful, really, but quite a few polaroids— which, actually, I suppose are very useful if you know half as much as Gertrude did about the supernatural.

 _(chuckling)_ Gerry is unmistakable, of course. There’s one of Emma Harvey, standing next to whom I believe is Sarah Carpenter. I don’t know when it was taken, whether Emma had already set her sights on tormenting the woman. Hm. (paper shuffling) I couldn’t find any of Fiona Law or Eric Delano, but I suppose they could have not yet realized yet about the polaroids at that point. Then there’s Michael, in his, standing next to Gertrude herself. 

They all look...quite happy. I—Well. They don’t look scared. 

[sigh] 

End recording.

[tape clicks off] 

**Author's Note:**

> this format and style was very much a departure from my usual writing, and honestly? it did not come naturally! I was just kind of experimenting with transcript format, but honestly may add a prose-form chapter at some point of the same story, just to mess around. we'll see.
> 
> thanks for reading, lemme know what you think :)


End file.
